HCWP News

Five finalists named for SC First Novel Prize

The South Carolina Arts Commission and Hub City Press announce the five books named finalists in the 2014 South Carolina First Novel Competition. The finalists are That Strange Darkness by Matthew Boedy of Columbia, John Lee by Mary Fancher of Greer; Whereabouts by Scott Gould of Greenville; Grave Dust from the Islands Far by James Edwin McTeer II of Lexington; and An Early Harvest by David A. Wright of Travelers Rest. Thirty-four unpublished manuscripts were submitted for the prize.

The winner will be announced in early June and will have his or her book published in 2015 by Hub City Press of Spartanburg.

Ben Fountain, author of Billy Lynn’s Last Halftime Walk and Brief Encounters with Che Guevara, is this year’s judge of the biennial First Novel contest. Originally from the Carolinas, Fountain now lives in Dallas, TX.

The three previous First Novel winners are Brian Ray of Columbia, author of Through the Pale Door (2008), selected by Percival Everett; Matt Matthews of Greenville, author of Mercy Creek (2010), selected by Bret Lott; and Susan Tekulve, author of In the Garden of Stone, selected by Josephine Humphreys.

The South Carolina First Novel Prize is funded by the South Carolina Arts Commission, Hub City Press and the Phifer/Johnson Foundation of Spartanburg, SC. The Humanities CouncilSC and the SC State Library are founding partners.

For more information about the First Novel Competition, visit or call http://www.SouthCarolinaArts.com/firstnovel (803) 734-8696; or http://www.hubcity.org (864) 577-9349.

Matthew Boedy

Matthew is a graduate teaching assistant in the English Department at the University of South Carolina in Columbia. He is published in A Sense of the Midlands, Slow Trains Literary Journal and Great Kills Review.

Mary Fancher

Mary is a retired information technology professional. Her artwork, which includes fabric collage, pastels and drawings, has been displayed in juried shows and galleries in three states. She writes for pleasure.

Scott Gould

Scott is the chair of the creative writing department at the South Carolina Governor's School for the Arts and Humanities in Greenville. He has an MFA in creative writing from Warren Wilson College and has published stories in the Kenyon Review, Black Warrior Review and elsewhere.

James McTeer

A former journalist, James is a media specialist at Polo Road Elementary School in Lexington, where he is the 2014 teacher of the year. He has a masters in library science from the University of South Carolina.

David Wright

David is an English teacher at Christ Church High School in Greenville. He received his PhD at the University of South Carolina in 2013 and has served as a lecturer at Furman University. He is a two-time winner of the South Carolina Fiction Project.